Joint List urges Israeli A-G to investigate 'torture' by Shin Bet
Samer Mina Salim Arbid, who is accused of killing Rina Shnerb and was arrested by Israeli authorities, is currently in critical condition in hospital.
By RACHEL WOLFAYMAN ODEH, leader of the Joint List.(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)
The Joint List has written a letter to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit, requesting that he look into torture claims following the hospitalization of Samer Mina Salim Arbid, according to i24News.Arbid, who is currently in critical condition at Hadassah-University Medical Center on Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus, was arrested by Israeli authorities and is accused of setting up and detonating the IED that killed Rina Shnerb in August.On Monday, Haaretz reported that the Israeli Justice Ministry opened an investigation into “potential wrongdoing” by officers of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).In the letter, the Joint List stated that, “torture and brutal and inhumane treatment of prisoners stand in direct contrast to international law and principles of human rights,” Ynet reported.The Palestinian Human Rights Center already issued a statement saying that it “holds Israel fully responsible for the life of al-‘Arbid and calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to end torture in its prisons and detention centers.”Arbid’s attorney, Mahmoud Hassan, told Haaretz that he had “undergone severe torture,” adding that he “suffered broken ribs and kidney failure” and that his client is on a respirator.Israeli forces caught Arbid on Sunday, just over a month after the attack that killed 17-year-old Shnerb.Arbid, a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) officials in Ramallah, was arrested during the Second Intifada for his involvement in terrorist activity. Under the direction of PFLP leadership, he constructed explosives and committed terrorist attacks.Alon Einhorn contributed to this report.
